Try as he might, Kepler couldn't keep a steady stride going as he and Gloria made their way through the ship’s corridors, his mind was still reeling from the antagonistic boldness of that damn roach monarch; the audacity of that witch having him and Gloria pinned and vulnerable challenged his temper to grow immensely, which he barely managed to the best of his ability. The interactions with the Changeling queen on the deck still made his blood boil and his mind seethe each time he tried to forget about it. His hooves heavily trod through the halls with loud stomps of barely-contained restraint as he continued to stride forward. Back straight and his head high but his face low, cast by umbrage put an insidious emphasis on his countenance. Kepler was certain that whatever expression that marred his face made his sour mood evident, made aware as he saw the variegated reactions of his crew while he was passing by; many soldiers sharply saluted and stood erect while sailors stepped aside or ducked into corridors upon seeing him. All this did was serve to make him lose more of his self-confidence in keeping his temper in check.
As he and the hen rounded the corner that led towards the brig, the guards upon seeing him straightened. Stopping just short of the heavy iron door only to take a deep breath; Kepler silently inhaled and exhaled, doing his damnedest to cool his fury for a final time before he entered the cell block. His arrival brought the prison guards to standing upright at full attention as well, the shift in gears garnering the interest of their singular occupant within the brig as he strode up to the bars of the alicorn's cell.
…
"Kapitän En bord!" One of the guards called out upon seeing him enter.
Princess Twilight Sparkle tried her best to look as intimidating as possible to Kepler as he stood in front of her. Her eyes were narrowed, and her wings flared in what Kepler surmised was supposedly a threatening display of a sort, but compared to the fury of Chrysalis and the ferocious nature of the Gryphons, she may as well be a kitten hissing against the roar of a tiger. The chains that bound her to one wall rattled as she moved, further downplaying her meek display of power.
“Well, look who finally showed up.” Kepler already felt his blood pressure rise as well as his hackles at her impertinent tone. Already for the first few seconds of just listening to her speak, he felt his predatory instincts take over; his fangs flashed in the dim light as the purple pony waved a hoof absently in the air, “I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me. Shouldn’t you be trying to interrogate me or find out what I know as soon as possible? Conventional wisdom states that any knowledge that I have could only be relevant in the near future, so far, you have shown a distinct lack of competent strategic planning by simply leaving me here to just sit for hours on end with nothing to do to occupy my time-”
CLANG!
Her dialogue abruptly ceased, cut off by the deafening bang that rang heavy reverberation in the depths of her eardrums. Kepler’s hoof had struck the bars between them, startling those present as a hush fell over them. Slowly, Kepler realized as he blinked out of his brief swing of anger, that he had managed to bend a cell door bar closest to him with his left forehoof. As he pulled his hoof from the stressed metal, slowly breathing in before pushing out one gusty sigh, he lowered his hoof to the floor and winced softly.
Gloria glanced at his leg and then his face several times, unsure of what to do as she watched Kepler take deep breaths. He glanced at Gloria, nodding to the hen reassuringly as he glared narrowly at the lavender mare before him and winced again as he shifted, both hen and mare looked down at his hoof and saw blood slowly pooling on the deck. Kepler looked down and then turned to Gloria, gesturing behind her to the metal door leading to the rest of the ship.
“Would you mind grabbing a kit… or one of the good doctors my dear?” He asked quietly, carrying a polite tone not to make her worried even more, “I think we have a spill.” He quipped mildly with a thin wry smile.
Nodding hurriedly, the hen nearly knocked over a nearby guard as she spun around and disappeared around the corner. Kepler stared longingly for another moment before he turned back to face the alicorn, his eyes filled with a cold remorseless sheen of steel as he spoke, more carefully this time with a poignant edge intoned.
“Now listen carefully,” the princess’s eyes widening at the controlled anger still evident in his voice, “can the smartarse remarks; because I am only going to say this once. You are a prisoner on my ship. You do not make demands, you do not ask the questions, and you will answer me with either a yes or no, followed by ‘sir’ when spoken to. Furthermore, you are going to honor, respect, and obey me. Do I make myself clear, girl?”
Once again, the mare’s eyes narrowed challengingly, her mouth opened ready to give a witty remark hot off her brain’s assembly line of retorts. Yet, again she barely got to muster her verbal forces for a successful offensive before his thundering yell ran ramshod over her like a bulldozer.
“DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!” Her ears flattened, eyes moistened slightly, her jaw snapped shut so fast he swore that she almost bit her tongue, but he didn’t give her time to think before he continued, “SPEAK UP PRINCESS OR I'LL COME IN THERE AND SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU PISS ME OFF!!”
“Sir, yes sir!” Her reply was little more than a squeak, but it was audible enough for Kepler's hearing, and that was all the satisfaction he needed. With a simple but yet firm nod at her words along with a dangerously sharp grin in the low light, a faux smile found its way onto his muzzle.
“Excellent,” he stated in a more conversational tone, his nocturnal eyes aglow, “now that we have that out of the way, we can finally get down to business.”
“I’m afraid you won’t get much out of her the way she is, little bat.” That burdening, wretched, sinister voice made Kepler’s fur crawl along the back of his neck as he rotated and saw the drone with the eyes of their Queen walk into the brig, the insectoid mare once again taking a back seat in her own body for their monarch’s needs.
Twilight’s expression instantaneously went from fearful to outraged in a split second, “YOU! I was wondering what happened to my horn! One of your drones cut off my magic!”
“Oh yes, yes,” the changeling mused tauntingly as she strode next to Kepler, her bored expression on full display, “not that there was much point in doing so. You still wouldn’t stand a chance even with your magic at your disposal, let alone as you are now.”
Twilight’s gaze shifted over to Kepler once more, “So I was right, you are a changeling. The presence of your queen proves it!”
At that, Kepler bristled with a snarl and lunged against the bars, his cap falling off as he snapped his jaws shut; the lavender pony fell back as razor sharp teeth darted between the opening, cracking shut menacingly at her as blue eyes bore icily into her own. Being compared to the cockroach beside him set off a primal anger in Kepler, but before the action could go any further he was preemptively halted by a sharp pain jolting in his still injured hoof.
“Now, now,” that sickly feminine voice tutted while also chuckling, its owner facing the purple alicorn, “no need to get anymore upset over a simple misunderstanding.”
Chrysalis lit up her horn and ran her magic against the bleeding underside of Kepler's immobilized limb, wiping up some of the carmine liquid in her sickly glowing green aura, inspecting it for a moment before simply tossing it into the cell. Twilight yelped as it splattered beside her, coating her hooves in light speckles, her eyes narrowed to pinpricks as her horrified gaze went from the crimson drops to Kepler and back again.
“Y-You aren’t a changeling.” She didn’t seem able to believe her own words as she turned back to facing the stallion, “But I was certain that…”
“That I was one of those ghastly bugs you think so little of?” Kepler interjected morosely, his voice somehow deeper, “Well, sorry to disappoint, princess, but I’m not one of them, or any race you have ever heard of. I’m not someone you can simply predict, analyze, or study, because you know next to nothing about me… No matter how much you may think to the contrary.”
Kepler turned to the changeling beside him, “What did you mean that there wasn’t much good interrogating her right now?”
“Simple.” The queen stated like she was describing the weather, “She won’t tell you anything truthful or provide any intelligence that would be of use to us because she has placed a ward over her mind.”
Twilight’s fear didn’t escape Kepler’s notice, lending credence to the monarch’s words. His eyes flicked back to the drone, “Explain.”
“She has cast a spell over herself,” Chrysalis continued, “likely before she was captured because the resin on her horn would prevent it otherwise. It prevents any direct attempts to read her mind with magic, and any statements that would cause her to betray important intel would be automatically changed to a lie. You won’t get any reliable information out of her as she is. Well…” a dark chuckle bubbled up from her lips as she ran her tongue over her fangs in a threatening manner, “unless I have something to say about it.”
Kepler raised an inquisitive brow to the changeling as she took a creeping step towards the cell door, “What are you planning to do?”
The queen simply winked at him, “What I do best.”
Twilight had backed all the way up against the back of her cell as the door swung open, fear evident in her expression and body language as she pressed her back against the hull, “S-Stay back! I’ll defend myself if you come any closer!”
“Oh, do try to stop me little one,” Chrysalis’ smile was predatory as she stalked closer to the trembling alicorn, “I do love it when they try to resist, no matter how feeble an attempt it might be.”
“S-Somepony,” the words shook as fear overrode the mare’s mind, “h-help! Anypony!”
“No one is coming to save you,” a chilling shiver ran up Kepler’s spine as the changeling’s horn lit up, forcibly levitating the mare, and bringing her forward until she was nose to nose with the queen, “and soon, it won’t even matter.”
Panic overcame the smaller mare as she opened her mouth to scream, which was cut off the moment she did as Chrysalis pressed the drone's mouth against the pony’s, her magic keeping the princess completely still as a small lump traveled up the drone’s throat and between their sealed lips. Twilight, eyes wide in terror, tried desperately to pull away and cough up whatever the changeling was passing through her maw, but with the bug's firm telekinetic grip locking down on her ability to move, there was nowhere to go.
A brief shimmer of magic radiating over the alicorn’s throat forced her to swallow, and a pitiful whimper of horror escaped the princess's throat as the changeling pulled back, a thin trail of glowing ooze bridging their mouths before being lapped up by a long, whiplike, tendrilled tongue.
“What,” Twilight panted as she fell limp in Chrysalis’ magic, “what… did you… do?”
“Oh that?” The changeling’s sadistic smile never left her lips as she licked along the mare’s cheek, “That was a condensed mix of our venom and love gel. It'll only be a moment once it enters your bloodstream, and when it does, it will override your ability to think rationally, those silly thoughts you so carefully hid behind your magic will be laid naked before me. You'll be my pet, my servant, completely beholden to me and submissive to anyone I see fit to include.”
The alicorn’s lip trembled, wide eyes wet with tears as a pink and green glow began to seep into her fuchsia irises, “I-I… will never… serve you…”
Chrysalis only smiled, leaning in close to kiss the mare below her horn as the pink and green light completely overtook the smaller mare’s eye color, “You already have.”
The changeling stepped back as her aura lowered the mare to the deck within the cell, her tongue reaching out to lick off the resin that coated the alicorn’s horn. Kepler expected resistance, or some kind of escape attempt. Yet the alicorn stood still, just… Smiling, even leaning into the changeling’s touch as the chains fell around her legs.
Once the mare was completely free of her bindings, Chrysalis turned and walked out of the cell, the smaller mare following along like a lovesick puppy, a dopey grin on her face and her eyes still swirling with the pink and green energy.
“Now we can get somewhere.” Chrysalis stated smoothly, “Once I remove the spell from her mind, you can get all the information you desire from this little mare.”
The urge to vomit suddenly hit Kepler tenfold as revulsion raced through him, “You mean to tell me… that you didn’t have to do all of that? You could have removed the spell anyway and just let me do this my way!?” he snarled, with gritted teeth bared.
The changeling hummed thoughtfully as she lifted and turned Twilight’s smiling face towards her own with a hoof under her chin, their horns touching as magic passed between the two, “I suppose I could have, but that wouldn’t have been nearly as satisfying, seeing the prodigy of my most hated enemy brought to tears as she succumbed to my complete and total control.” She glanced at Kepler as she finished with her spell work, “Wouldn’t you agree?”
Kepler’s disdain for the insect, no, abomination grew exponentially as she licked and kissed the smaller mare, the sight threatening his stomach to retch as bile rose to the back of his throat, the stallion doing his best to keep his composure.
“So, when you said that she would answer to anyone you saw fit to include in her condition,” a slight shiver ran up his spine as the changeling turned her gaze on him, “were you being serious?”
A devious hum escaped the changeling’s mouth as she turned to face him, “What? Does the little bat desire to have a go at the soft little mare before him? Want to add her to your growing herd?”
Kepler strained, nearly retching at the very idea of taking advantage of the princess in such a way, his reaction evidently amusing to the insect monarch.
“Oh, don’t worry your little head over it,” Chrysalis said, patting his head as she turned back to face the alicorn, “I didn’t take you for such a being, but I was serious when I said that she will answer to any confidants I entrust.” Her tone shifted into a higher, more adoring one as she spoke to the hypnotized mare, “My love, would you be so kind as to listen to the little bat next to us? He's very important to me, and he needs to know all about the plans that Celestia has been making to try and hurt me.”
“Of course, my Queen!” The bile rose higher up Kepler’s throat at the absolute adoration coloring the mare’s voice, her swirling eyes gazing up at the changeling queen with utmost devotion, “Whatever you say!”
The alicorn purred as the queen ran her hoof over her head as if she was a cherished pet, and it was all Kepler could do not to try and kill the changeling before him as she turned her attention back to him, “Good girl. Listen to what he has to say, and answer truthfully. It would make me very disappointed in you if you lied to one of my close friends.” Kepler and one of the guards snorted derisively at that.
Twilight nodded, the smile never leaving her lips as she bounced up to Kepler’s side, leaning against him as the changeling turned to leave, “How can I serve you, master?”
For every ounce it took of Kepler's character not to flinch or yield to his upturned stomach, his hatred for the insect increased further. His baleful gaze followed the changeling as she slunk around the corner, that nasty dark and sinister laugh echoing throughout the ship's hallways as she departed. ‘I'm definitely going to kill you, bug… Eventually.’
As the laughter faded, Gloria had managed to return from the med bay followed by one of the physicians in tow; and appropriately, they both seem to have crossed paths with the bug as they were leaning and standing next to the closest wall to keep their distance. Gloria stood there, with her beak agape as she looked from Kepler to the glowy-eyed alicorn beside him and back again to where the drone went off to.
“Umm,” her words were tinted with uncertainty and a little hesitation, “I miss something?”
Yes, a violation to personal space and the sanctity of a child’s mind- Kepler’s uninjured hoof found its way to his face, a hiss of pain reminding him why he had Gloria leave in the first place. The physician got to work bandaging his hoof while Gloria, the guards, and a hypnotized alicorn watched from the sidelines. Kepler could feel a headache well up within his cranium as he contemplated his next move. He knew he had to do something about his situation, but with the pace and sudden twisted turns of events had been taking as of late, he wasn’t sure what was the right course, not anymore.
One thing he did know for sure, the next time he was face to face with that bug queen, the dark promise he had made before was solidified in the darkest corners of his imagination; for the last thing that… bitch would ever see again, was not sunlight… but the end of a rifle’s barrel flashing. He would make sure personally it wasn’t a drone that got it, no, that distinct privilege would righteously go to the monster in fragile, mortal, chitinous form and her alone, no matter what might happen to him. But first things first, he had a war to finish, and a princess to interrogate.
Turning and gesturing for the two females behind him to follow, he gave the guards a quick salute, which they returned, and as they traversed the ship’s corridors, their journey back gathered quite a bit of attention. Thankfully, no one was ignorant enough to question him as Kepler made his way back to his bunkroom, ordering two rifle-bearing guards to stand outside his room before closing and latching the door shut behind them.
Gloria stood to one side as he faced the still smiling alicorn, his countenance solidly stuck in cold neutrality as he began, inquiring, “...What plans does this Celestia have to stop the war?”
Twilight’s eyes lit up a bit brighter and she opened her mouth and began to speak; Kepler’s revulsion doubled to include himself as he began extracting information from the mare, acknowledging the past hours' ungodly actions as inhumane on every fundamental level. As the mare blindly gave out every bit of detail and possibly relevant information, Kepler innately vowed to find a way to set the young girl free from the bug’s influence…
…
Even if he had to personally send her back to Equestria to do it.